The Smugglers (TV story)
The Smugglers 'is the first serial of the fourth season of ''Doctor Who. It was written by Brian Hayles, directed by Julia Smith and featured William Hartnell as the First Doctor, Michael Craze as Ben Jackson and Anneke Wills as Polly Wright. Overview To be added Synopsis The TARDIS arrives on the coastline of 17th Century Cornwall. Whilst exploring, the Doctor, Ben and Polly meets a church warden called Joseph Longfoot, who passes onto the Doctor a cryptic rhyme leading to the whereabouts of the hidden treasure known as Avery's Gold. Pirates, lead by Captain Pike and his henchman Cherub, are also searching for the treasure and, having murdered Longfoot, frame Ben and Polly for the murder and kidnap the Doctor. The Doctor, Ben and Polly have to use all of their skills to prevent the pirates from obtaining the treasure. However, is this a task too great for them? Plot Episode 1 After the TARDIS makes it's departure from 20th Century London, Ben and Polly are amazed and equally baffled by it's disproportionate interior. The Doctor is furious that they followed him inside and tells them that they've both left their native time and place and that they aren't likely to return there for a long time yet as he neither knows where nor when he is going to land. The ship soon makes it's landing inside a cave; Ben dismisses the Doctor's claims as nonsense and the Doctor opens the doors to let them out after confirming it safe. As they step out of the TARDIS, Ben and Polly are baffled by their being in a new place. Ben is immediately irked when the Doctor locks the TARDIS after he steps out of it and he and Polly head off to find their own way back to London. The Doctor is humoured by their behaviour and heads off after them; Polly is quite excited by where they are, suspecting they many be in Cornwall, but Ben continues to moan about returning to his ship. They head off to the top of the cliff-top followed by the Doctor. At the top, Ben spots a church in the distance and remains to be convinced that they are still in the 1960s. Traipsing over to the church, the Doctor, Ben and Polly are met but a pistol-wielding churchwarden, but he soon puts it away and invites them inside. The Doctor asks the man for directions to the nearest inn but he just questions them as to whether or not they saw anyone named Avery or Pike on the water. The Doctor offers to his help to the man, who gives his name as Joseph Longfoot, and helps him with a dislocated finger. Grateful, Longfoot then ushers them away in the direction of an inn, imparting a riddle to the Doctor as they depart: "This is Deadman's secret key, Ringwood, Smallbeer, Gurney.", unaware of a man in the distance listening to them. He ducks out of sight as the travellers leave but then follows Longfoot into the church with a knife in his hand. Elsewhere, the inn's landlord, Joseph Kewper, sends his stableboy Tom to send a message to Longfoot. Later, when the Doctor, Ben and Polly arrive in the inn, Kewper initially refuses them service until he hears they were sent by Longfoot and he grants them some rooms to spend the night, food and dry clothes for Ben and Polly (who gets increasingly aggravated by people referring to her as a man, but the Doctor insists that she go with it for now). The Doctor plans to return to the TARDIS when it's available, but is unable to assure his unwavering, new companions that he can return them home straight away. Polly is concerned by the local's distrust of them, but the Doctor doesn't give it too much concern. Back in the vestry, Longfoot wanders around in a drunken stupor, shouting to himself, where he is grabbed and held at knifepoint by Cherub. He asks the location of a treasure that he promised to attain for his Captain Pike, but Longfoot refuses to have any involvement with either he or Cherub. He then demands to know what he told the Doctor as he was leaving, but he still refuses to talk, throws some water in his face and tries to run but Cherub throws a knife into his back and kills him. Up on the clifftop, smugglers light signal fires to each other. In the inn, the Doctor ponders over the churchwarden's warning to them, to Ben and Polly's confusion, when Tom rushes in and tells them that Longfoot is dead. The innkeeper suspects that the travellers may have been involved in the murder, while Cherub holds the Doctor at knifepoint demanding to know what Longfoot told him as they left him. While Ben and Polly try to help him, Ben is knocked unconscious and Polly is grabbed by one of Cherub's men while they take the Doctor away. Polly and Ben are locked in the stables when Kepwer releases them. They help the injured Ben to a place to lie down and Kewper tells them to wait the Squire's arrival, while Polly worries for the Doctor's safety. At the harbour, Cherub's men stick the Doctor on their ship, the Black Albatross, and take him to speak to the Captain. The Squire arrives at the inn and demands explanations from Polly as to who they are and where they come from. Ben soon comes around and he and Polly soon find themselves arrested for Longfoot's murder. The Doctor is brought before Captain Samuel Pike, who decrees that he will make him talk as he slams his hook into the table. Episode 2 The Doctor is surprised to hear that Longfoot used to be one of their crew when they served under the pirate captain Avery. Cherub is enthusiastic to torture the information out of the Doctor if he doesn't talk, to which Pike concurs. Locked in the cell, Ben mopes over their situation while Polly attempts to look on the bright side of the situation. When Polly is scared by a rat in the corner, Tom is drawn over by the commotion she causes but they can't convince him that there were other strangers who took the Doctor and killed Longfoot. Remembering the people of the time were still afraid of witches, Polly makes a plan to use this as a chip to escape. After leaving the inn, Kewper heads to the harbour and leaves in a small rowing boat. On the ship, the Doctor plays to Pike's obvious vanity to try and win his favour so as to talk amiably. Cherub makes a quiet move on the Doctor but Pike stops him, under the threat of death. The Doctor continues to ensure his safety until Pike gets annoyed and demands the information, when Jamaica comes in and tells them of an approaching rowboat; Pike sends the Doctor to the galley and Cherub to meet with their visitor. In the cell, Ben and Polly make a straw doll of Polly to try and trick Tom into thinking the Doctor is a warlock and that they are his apprentices. While Tom is in a panic, they tell him that they can save himself should he allow them to go free. After they leave the cell, they agree to investigate the church. When Kewper comes aboard the Black Albatross, Cherub holds him at the end of his pistol, demanding to know his business, when Kewper pays him to speak with Pike. Kewper offers to make business with him and Pike considers his offer, but Cherub grabs him and Pike admits that he was responsible for the killing of Longfoot. He orders Jamaica to bring the Doctor to him and tells Cherub to keep both he and Kewper secure. Back in the church crypt, Ben and Polly look for any clues about the murder but they soon decide that they would be best to head back to the TARDIS. Before they leave, a cloaked man emerges from a secret passage; Ben knocks him unconscious and Polly suggests that he could be the killer. She goes off to find and tell the Squire while Ben ties the man up. Before departing the Black Albatross, Pike makes himself appear presentable and gives Cherub his hook to look after. In the crypt, the man wakes up, furious at being bound and introduces himself as Josiah Blake the revenue officer to the king. Ben is dubious to believe him; Blake insists that he is only in the crypt to catch a ring of smugglers, of which the churchwarden was suspected, but Ben remains skeptical. Hearing that the tunnel leads to the beach, Ben rushes off to investigate it. Disguised in respectable clothing, Pike and Cherub plot to capture the Squire and force him to reveal the location and contents of the smugglers' stash. When the Squire arrives, he unknowingly gives the church away as the relay point when Polly is brought in and she recognises Cherub as the man who captured the Doctor. Back aboard the ship, Kewper discreetly informs the Doctor of what happened to his friends and they plan to escape, with the innkeeper now regretting having tried to deal with Pike. Polly tells the Squire her story, but Pike twists the facts of her tale to further indict her and Ben by confirming that they last spoke to Longfoot when he was still alive. They decide to head to the crypt to confirm the validity of Polly story, but only after binding and gagging her. Ben returns to the crypt, overjoyed to have found the TARDIS on the beach as soon as the Squire comes in with Pike, Cherub and Polly when the Squire raises arms against him. Episode 3 The Squire orders both Ben and Polly to be restrained when he unties Blake and hands them over into his custody, now assured of their guilt of both murder and smuggling. After taking a pistol from the Squire, Blake forces the away. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Kewper pretend to play a game of cards with Jamaica overseeing the game; while Jamaica is distracted by the Doctor using the playing cards to foretell the future, Kewper takes the juncture to knock him unconscious. After Kewper ties him up, he and the Doctor opts to go to the Squire and tell him of his companions' innocence alongside Pike's presence. When Pike and Cherub play on the Squire's vanity and he reveals to them that a smuggler's stash is contained within one of the tombs. They arrange to have their own stash readied elsewhere and agree to meet when the next signal fire is lit. Elsewhere, Blake drags Ben and Polly into the inn's stables and releases them, on account of his distrust of the Squire on suspicion that he is the head of the smuggling ring, but he hasn't any proof against him. While they discuss the Doctor, he suddenly arrives in the room; while Ben and Polly are thrilled to see him, Kewper comes into encounter Blake, whom he is known too, suspects the meeting to have been a trap and flees with Blake in pursuit. When Pike returns, he beats Jamaica for letting the Doctor and Kewper escape, but he appears to regain favour when he says that the Doctor and Kewper mentioned going to the see the Squire, suggesting that they may be able to lay a trap for them. Nevertheless, Pike runs Jamaica through for his failure and returns to the deck to find Cherub missing. At the stables, the Doctor tells Blake of what he'd heard of Pike's plan; Blake is concerned that they will need more assistance if they are to stop Pike from sacking the village and rushes off on horseback to gather reinforcements. Ben and Polly explain that the secret passage beneath the church would lead them to the TARDIS, but the Doctor doesn't wish to leave to leave the village to a fate he may be responsible for and plans to try and find the treasure before Pike using the riddle Longfoot told him and offer it as a bargaining chip. Polly agrees to help him, as does Ben, albeit reluctantly. After Tom points them in the direction of the church, Cherub comes out of hiding and threatens him to tell him where they went. Kewper makes it back to the Squire's house, he tells the Squire of what he heard of Pike's ship; the Squire is reluctant to cross swords with Pike until Kewper mentions the treasure that he's looking for is Avery's gold and they decide to look for it themselves. They plot a trap against Pike by placing armed men on the route the Squire gave him to his stash, before they both ride off in search of the treasure. While Blake races along, desperate to find help, the Doctor, Ben and Polly make it to the churchyard. The Doctor tries to discern the meaning of Longfoot's riddle, while his companions look at all the old graves. While reading the names on the graves, Polly finds the answer to Longfoot's riddle and they head to the crypt. While they each find the names listed in the riddle, Kewper and the Squire arrive at the vestry. Before the Doctor can discern any more of the riddle's mystery, they are interrupted by the arrival of Kewper and the Squire. Trying to force the Doctor's cooperation, Kewper and the Squire argue over how to proceed when Cherub sneaks in a throws his knife at Kewper and a gunshot goes off, causing Polly to scream. Episode 4 The shot hits the Squire's shoulder and Ben looks him over. The Doctor refuses to be intimidated by Cherub and doesn't cooperate; Polly tries to pleads with Cherub to tend to the Squire, but he grabs her and holds her at gunpoint, forcing the Doctor to reveal Longfoot's riddle to him. Cherub is not convinced that Longfoot just told him the riddle and readies to shoot Polly. Outside, Pike's men bring their rowboat ashore and disembark; Pike sends Spaniard to look for Cherub. As they move through the churchyard, Pike goes over to the Squire's stash and loots it before they head inside. While Blake returns to the churchyard backed by militia men, Pike storms the crypt and finds Cherub with the others. He claims to be acting the Pike's interest, but Pike doesn't believe this and they spar with cutlasses. While all this is happening, Pike's men indulge themselves on rum, while the crewman Gaptooth attempts to restrain it, ordering two inebriated crewman back to the boat as punishment. In the ensuing fight, the Doctor uses the distraction to direct Ben and Polly down the secret passage to the TARDIS while he stays to wait for Blake to return. Cherub takes an opening to take Pike out with his knife, but misses; Pike then runs him through with his cutlass, before turning to the Doctor, who agrees to aid Pike in finding the gold on a new set of terms. Outside, the crew members Gaptooth sent away stumble across the TARDIS on the beach and find the entrance to the passageway leading to the crypt. The Doctor bargains with Pike, saying that he will help him find the treasure, of which he wants none of, in return for him pulling his men from the village. The Squire tries to coax Pike into admitting that his crew are harder to control than he claims, but he agrees to move the others away if the Doctor shows him the treasure. Meanwhile, Blake and the militia arrive at the cliff face. Ben and Polly wander through the passage to the TARDIS, but Polly stumbles and injures her foot and insists Ben goes and fetches the Doctor. Arriving on the beach, Blake splits his group into two parts and leads one to the church. The Doctor explains Longfoot's riddle to Pike and directs him to the place in the crypt where the gold is hidden. Removing a flagstone at the base of a pillar, Pike initially finds nothing but is then overjoyed to find the gold buried beneath it. While he revels, Blake's militia arrive in the churchyard and overpower the drunken pirates. On the beach, Polly is grabbed by the two pirates waiting by the TARDIS; she rushes back into the tunnel to call for Ben but is caught by Spaniard. Meanwhile, Ben hears one of the pirates approaching and knocks him out, before returning to free Polly form Spaniard. Blake leads his mean into the passageway and shoots Spaniard before he can kill Ben and they charge for the crypt with him while Polly makes for the TARDIS. In the crypt, Pike's men are overpowered by the militia and Pike turns his attention to the Doctor. When he returns to help the Squire, Pike makes a move on him but the Squire grabs him for long enough for Blake to shoot him dead. With the conflict over, the Doctor and Ben swiftly sneak away to the TARDIS, with Blake rather disappointed that he couldn't offer his thanks to them. The travellers hurry into the TARDIS and dematerialise. While the travellers discuss their next landing when the temperature in the ship suddenly drops drastically and the Doctor informs them that they've landed in the coldest place in the world... Cast * Dr. Who - William Hartnell * Ben Jackson - Michael Craze * Polly - Anneke Wills * Churchwarden - Terence de Marney * Cherub - George A. Cooper * Jacob Kewper - David Blake Kelly * Tom - Mike Lucas * The Squire - Paul Whitsun-Jones * Spaniard - Derek Ware * Captain Pike - Michael Godfrey * Jamaica - Elroy Josephs * Blake - John Ringham * Gaptooth - Jack Bligh Crew * Assistant Floor Manager - John Hansen, Tony Gilbert, Maggie Saunders * Costumes - Daphne Dare * Designer - Richard Hunt * Fight Arranger - Derek Ware * Film Cameraman - Jimmy Court * Film Editor - Colin Eggleston * Make-Up - Sonia Markham * Producer - Innes Lloyd * Production Assistant - John Hobbs * Script Editor - Gerry Davis * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson * Studio Lighting - Cyril Wilkins * Studio Sound - Leo Sturgess * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire * Title Music - Ron Grainer References To be added Story notes To be added Broadcast & Ratings Continuity To be added Home video and audio releases To be added External Links * Official ''The Savages'' page on '''Doctor Who Website